38 Ala. 89 | Ala. | 1861
In the questions which are pressed upon our consideration, no contest is. raised as to the validity of the gift, by William Bragg to his daughter, Mrs. Massie, of the slave Amy; nor of rhe subsequent exchange of the .slave Catherine for Amy. The jury, by their verdict, impliedly affirmed that such gift was made and perfected; -• and the questions bearing on the merits of this case, which we are called upon to decide, all rest on. the postulate, that the gift was- completely consummated. On any other hypothesis, the plaintiff’s intestate never bad title, and the present suit would have failed on that ground ; while, on the other hand, the defendant’s title would be unques- • tioned, both by his* purchase from. William Bragg, and by -
The uncontroverted, leading facts -of this case, -then, .are -the following: Ann Eliza Bragg was the' owner of the ,-.slave Amy, and lived with her father, William Bragg, -where the slave also lived- She .intermarried with Mr. .Massie, plaintiff’s intestate, with whom she lived, also at rthe house of her father, until the death of her husband, -.which took place only a few months after the marriage. .During the life-time of Mr. Massie, Mrs. Massie, in his presence, and with his approbation, exchanged with her ■father the-slave Amy for the slave Catherine. Mr. Massie .died in the summer or -fall of 1837, intestate. William Bragg was appointed administrator of-,the estate of Mr. Massie, in .November, .1838, and returned an inventory of his effects, -omitting - all mention of the slave Catherine. William Bragg continued administrator of ¡the estate of Mr. Massie, until August, 1858, when ho resigned, and Mr. Davis, the present plaintiff, was appointed administrator ■ de bonis non. Mrs. Massie continued to live-with her father, William Bragg, except for about one -year, which was after ;her second marriage in 1844. ,-In-1841, between two and .three years after he was appointed administrator of Mr. .Massie, William Bragg, by private contract, and in his own right, conveyed his property, including the slave Catherine, by deed absolute on its faee, to David Bragg and William iH. Knott, who .thereupon took possession and control of the property, .and worked it until about the year 1848; William .Bragg and his daughter, Mrs. Massie, returning to tthe place-some-few months after the sale, and living upon lit -.with '.Mr. Knott, who was son-in-law to William Bragg.
Waiving then, for (the present, all question of >the consummation of the gift, we will address ourselves to.certain points which have been pressed -upon our attention as
1. That Mrs. Massie held the slave Catherine adversely to her father, the representative of her husband’s estate y. that tbe interest of the estate in the slave Catherine was, therefore, a mere chose in .action, which the administrator Iipd a right to sell at private sale;. and that such private sale vested the title in David Bragg and William Knott, the purchasers.
2. That Mrs. Massie held the slave adversely to her. father; that she, and those holding under her, have had the uninterrupted adverse possession for more than six years • after William. Bragg was appointed administrator; and-that, on this account, the claim of the estate is barred.
3. That,- conceding the private sale by William Bragg to David Bragg and Mr.- Knott to have been illegal, (that being the only theory on which this suit .is maintainable,) tbe sale, under our law, was simply void; .that being void, when tbe action of-detinue was-brought by David Bragg against William Bragg, the latter was not estopped by his sale from vesting,bis defense on.,tbe invalidity of the con- . tract; that William Bragg could and should have defended . his-possession on the title of his intestate, and that the re- . covery in that action is conclusive against the title of Mr., Massie’s estate.
4. That the deed from William Bragg to David Bragg and Mr. Knott was only a mortgage to secure the payment of a debt; that the debt had., been extinguished; and. therefore, William Bragg, by suffering the former recovery, estopped the estate from- recovering tbe property.
What we have said above disposes of the first and second points made in argument by appellants.. Mrs. Massie never had the adverse possession.
A full answer to the third point made in argument for the appellant, is furnished in the fact, that the sale by William Bragg to David Bragg and William Knott, was not executory, but executed. It. was perfected by delivery; and Messrs. David Bragg and Knott took and-retained possession under their purchase. Having subsequently acquired the possession from David. Bragg,: William Bragg was as much .estopped from relying on the invalidity of the sale made b.y himself, as if he himself had been plaintiff, suing for the property. The case is not within the principle settled in Fambro v. Gantt, supra, or in Gunter v. Leckey, 30 Ala. 591. The recovery in the action of detinue by David Bragg against William Bragg, is no bar to the present suit; for the title here relied on could not have been litigated in that suit.
Tested by the principles above declared, we hold, that the circuit court committed no error available to appellant, either in the charges given, or in the charges refused. Those given correspond substantially with the views we have expressed. Of those refused, the ,1st, 4th and 6th, are abstract. The rest do not assert correct legal propositions, and were properly refused.
We are not able to perceive any relevancy to,-the issue in this cause, of the fact sought to be proved, that the defendant (David Bragg) held a note against William .Massie, which had been presented to William Bragg, the .administrator, and not paid. Nor do we perceive any error in the court’s ruling, which allowed the witness to state the reasons why he paid taxes on the slave Amy, after the gift, and while Ann Eliza was a minor living in his family.
We find no error in the various rulings of the circuit som-t, and.its judgment is consequently affirmed.